2002 Merchandise & Miscellaneous News Archives

Vanity Fair (March 2002)

February 28, 2002: "Vanity Fair" Superman Article

The March 2002 issue of "Vanity Fair" magazine (with Star Wars on the cover) has an indepth article on Superman. Superman Homepage reporter Stephen Durrell (Vintagesd@aol.com) filed this report on the "Vanity Fair" article...

Ok, ok, I admit it. I am not your average Vanity Fair reader. I generally don't care what the spring line at Ralph Lauren will look like, or that Cindy Crawford is now hawking clothes for Ellen Tracey. Having said that, the March 2002 issue therefore caught my eye on the news-rack for a much "geekier" reason. It has a new twelve-page photo spread on the upcoming Star Wars movie. Hey, forgive me, I have been a fan since I was a kid and saw those big credits roll across the screen for the first time.

Imagine my surprise then, when as I flipped through the pages looking for the newest R2-D2 pics by Annie Leibovitz something even more familiar caught my eye. "Was that the Superman Shield?" my mind registered as I flipped by countless ads for perfumes and fashions that very few people could get away with wearing. I turned back and sure enough, it was a picture of Superman. Not only a picture of Superman, but also a whole article on him. Well, that was it. I had to buy the damn thing now. I hoped no one I knew saw me at the cash register.

I half expected the article to be on the fashion styles displayed by the Man of Steel over the years. (What the hell WERE they thinking with that whole Electric Blue Suit by the way?) Instead on page 130 I found a much different article than I was expecting. In "It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's the Zeitgeist", I found that author James Wolcott had written one of the most interesting and thoughtful pieces on Superman that I have read in many years.

Wolcott begins his article by postulating that perhaps the "death" of the Man of Steel in 1992 was a much more significant event than a publicity stunt dreamed up by DC Comics to boost sales of a slumping comic book. Instead he, along with several other sources he cites, contend that Superman's death was instead an event showing how the American ideal had changed. That we no longer needed a Superman that stood for the popular "Truth, Justice, and the American Way", especially when the "American Way" was in a constant state of being redefined, as it is now. He even goes so far to state that perhaps the defeat of George Bush for the Presidency in 1992 is linked to this same changing American Ideal. To quote one of his sources "everything the S-man stood for just didn't cut it anymore, Pops."

But, as evidenced by what happened on September 11th, Wolcott puts forth the idea that while maybe our country has changed, maybe our need for Superman hasn't. He cites the increase in songs about the Man of Steel (Particularly Laurie Anderson's "O Superman", and of course Five For Fighting's "Superman") as well as the new and very popular "Smallville" series as evidence that the country felt the need for some sort of return to the ideas of "Truth" and "Justice", even though we aren't quite sure what the "American Way" is at any one time. He even points out that these songs, and the television series were written and produced before the September 11th attacks, thus putting forth the idea that it's almost as if the country knew something was coming that would call out for Superman.

The whole article is impressive and well thought out. Wolcott obviously did a great deal of research on the history of Superman and his effect on popular culture before writing this article. He talks about the Man of Steel's roots from his creation by Siegel and Schuster and his subsequent battles with the Fredric Wertham book "Seduction of the Innocent" and then the ill-conceived comics code. He talks about while in the 1960's Marvel Comics became hip, cool, and filled with angst (calling "Spiderman the webhead Hamlet") Superman spiraled as a character and became interchangeable with all the other heroes of the DC Universe. Wolcott also draws from the first two Superman Films, (correctly panning Superman's 3 and 4) examples of prophetic horrors that could await us at the hands of those who wish to do us harm. "Reality has caught up with escapism." he says, as he uses Lex Luthor's (Gene Hackman's) idea of a poison gas pellet from the first Superman film to clearly allude to the anthrax attacks and panic of last year. He also talks about the opening scene of Superman 2 at the Eiffel Tower, and then goes on to explain how Algerian terrorists were stopped from destroying the tower in 1994.

Wolcott clearly sees the bigger implications of a character like Superman and his effect on American Society. He talks about how Superman has peripherally influenced so many different aspects of our lives. From how he was referenced on so many episodes of "Seinfeld" to having his shield now worn by the real heroes (firefighters, police officers, etc.) of September 11th. But, he doesn't make this journey into pop culture without a few missteps.

First, he makes the mistake that so many non-purists seem to make. He seems to feel that it is Superman who is the reality of the character and Clark Kent is the facade, not the other way around. One of the most important things that came out of the Superman revamp in the late 1980's was that it was the farm boy from Kansas who wore the blue suit with the red cape, not the alien from another planet who wore the tie and the glasses. This is an even more important idea today, as the hope that an ordinary "man" can be "super" rings truer to the American heart than the idea of a "Superman" who enjoys playing a mortal man.

Wolcott also takes an interesting, and for myself never pondered, turn in describing the Lex Luthor/Clark Kent/Superman relationship. He specifically cites the scene in the WB network's "Smallville" pilot episode in which Clark is strung up in the cornfield and discovered by Lex as somewhat "homoerotic". He describes Luthor's passionate hatred for Superman/Clark as intense as that of a "jilted lover." Again, he, in my opinion, misses the point. It's a relationship that's obviously deeper than sexual Freudian psychobabble, that's the simplistic answer. It's a problem of envy. Lex envy's that which even with all his wealth and power, he can never have. He envies Clark's relationships with his family, and his friends and Superman's adoration from the rest of the world. He resents The Man of Steel's ability to do the right thing in even the direst of circumstances. He longs for the acceptance that Clark seems to have, never knowing that Clark is really even more unique and alone on this planet than he is. Perhaps in the world of post September 11th, this relationship can be used as a template to identify why some narrow minds on this planet have trouble with the United States. We, like Superman, are larger than life, free, powerful, and patriotic. Those attributes alone are enough to gain resentment and jealousy in parts of the world.

Wolcott's biggest misstep will no doubt bother the devotees of this website more than the average reader of Vanity Fair. Wolcott very astutely recognizes that Superman has changed with the times and sites those changes. But sadly, he seemingly fails to embrace the consistency that is Superman. He talks about how Superman can be turned into "Dawson's Creek" on "Smallville" but doesn't account for the steadfast moral center that continues to make Superman popular after more than 60 years. Superman doesn't kill. He believes in his ideals. He fights for truth, justice, and freedom even when those ideas are laughed at in popular culture as "square" or "cliche". And while the past decade of prosperity may have let us forget that evil exists in the world as more than a concept, we never forget the Superman ideal. There are things that go bump in the night, and sometimes you have to put on the red cape and fight what you are afraid of. After the events of September 11th, when we were so violently reminded of the real evil that lurks in the world, we are thus returning to the ideals of the Superman. They aren't so cliche anymore.

So, my fellow frequent visitors to the Fortress of Solitude go out and grab the March 2002 issue of Vanity Fair. Don't be afraid to slap that issue down on the counter and buy it openly, for the entire world to see. Be proud. Besides the Superman Article, and the Star Wars photos don't forget to enjoy the Versace add near page 177 (wow!) But most of all, enjoy an article on The Man of Steel that will remind you of just how important he is to the other people in the world, besides us. We always knew.



2002 Merchandise & Miscellaneous News

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